Not surprisingly, there were some blazing times at the 40th Anniversary celebratory run for the UN Environment Program (UNEP) on Sunday in Nairobi, Kenya. In the half marathon, Victor Kipchirchir broke the tape first in 1:00:27. Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Mercy Chemutai won in 1:12.

More than 200 runners took part in the race, which was organized by UNEP, in partnership with the Paul Tergat Foundation and the Athletics Kenya.

Along with the half marathon, another 300 runners partipiated in the 5K fun run. Running celebrities such as former world-record holder in the marathon, Paul Tergat and the current world-record holder, Patrick Makau, took part.

“This is the ultimate opportunity for athletes to demonstrate their support for the work of the UN Environment Programme in protecting the environment for the past four decades,” said Tergat. “This is a landmark partnership between sports and the environment in which celebrities can use their iconic status for the cause of the environment, for which I have a personal passion and commitment.”

Duncan Larkin

Duncan Larkin is a freelance journalist and author who’s been covering the sport of running for over a decade. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007. He wrote the book RUN SIMPLE, and coaches runners of all abilities.
You can learn more about him here: http://roadsmillslaps.tumblr.com/about